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Gears of War movie rights go to New Line

The movie rights to blockbuster action game Gears of War have been snapped up by New Line, the company behind The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

According to Variety magazine, Collateral writer Stuart Beattie will pen the adaptation, with Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey producing.

A sequel to the bestselling Gears of War is also likely to be on the cards, and could be released at the same time as the movie. Although no director has yet been found, the producers are hoping for a summer 2009 release.

"I'm not a gamer, but what blew me away about 'Gears' was how it captures the mythology of a war mission and how high the stakes are," Godfrey told Variety.

Gamers worried that the film will lose the excitement and intensity of the original will be reassured to hear that the game's lead designer, Cliff Bleszinski, will executive produce the movie version.

The Epic-designed Gears of War achieved huge success when it was released, overtaking Halo 2 to become the most popular game on the Xbox live service.